The Most Expensive Cigars in the World

Cigars have often gotten an unfair stereotype for being a rich man’s luxury. Certainly, the fact that most good quality cigars are hand-rolled make the products more costly than their mass produced counterparts in the cigarette industry. But many affordable cigars still offer a pleasant and satisfying smoking experience. But this does bring up an interesting question: Just what are the most expensive cigars in the world? Narrowing down this list can be a bit tricky since product lines vary and international distribution through online companies may cause the prices to fluctuate slightly. But here is a list (alphabetically, not by price) of the world’s most expensive cigars:

Altadis’ Behike—This Spanish cigar company has only released about 4,000 of this particular line which comes in boxes of forty with a hefty price tag of almost $19,000. On the average, that breaks down to over $400 per cigar.

Arturo Fuente—This company has released three runs which we felt compelled to include: the Don Arturo AnniverXario ($78), the Opus X “A” ($79) and the Opus X BBMF ($55 and the risqué name which means “Big Bad Mother—”).

Ashton VSG—This particular brand is a strong smoke from tobacco grown in Ecuador and, despite its $32 price tag, is in high demand among aficionados.

Cohiba Esplendido—Perhaps the most famous cigar company even for those who don’t smoke, this Cohiba brand is made in Cuba which means you won’t be picking up one of these in an American smoke shop. If you did, it would set you back about $35 each.

Gurkha’s His Majesty’s Reserve—The Behike was at one time the most expensive cigar in the world until Gurkha released this line which comes in at a whopping $750 per cigar. Hardly surprising, however, when you realize that each cigar is infused with a helping of cognac—Louis XIII Cognac to be precise which usually retails for around $2,000 per bottle.

Gurkha’s Black Dragon—As if His Majesty’s Reserve wasn’t expensive enough, Gurkha’s release of their Black Dragon cigars topped even that astonishing price. The company released five chests made of hand carved camel bone. Each chest contained one hundred cigars and sold for $115,000. (That’s $1,150 each!) They then released a less prestigious second run of “similar quality” which sells for about $10.

Louixs—The Louixs cigar was made especially for the Beverly Hills Cigar Club and generally retails for $50 under the auspicious tagline “the finest cigar money can buy.”

Padron Serie 1926 80 Years—This particular series was made to celebrate Jose Orlando Padron’s 80th birthday. Although they are usually sold in boxes of eight, many cigar retailers offer these individually for about $30 each.

Stradavarius—The most expensive Stradivarius violin cost $3,500,000. But the cigar line with the similar name will run you about $35 each for a cigar which blends tobaccos from Mexico, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.

This list doesn’t even begin to hit all of the collectible cigars which, like fine wines, are quite expensive and sought after. But if you are looking for a gift for that cigar smoker who has tried them all, you might want to splurge and give them one of the most expensive smokes in the world.